Voluntary disclosure initiative
16/09/2008
Ireland's Revenue Commission flagged up the deadline for taxpayers who failed to declare significant interest on savings and investments in 2005 and 2006 to take advantage of the voluntary disclosure initiative.
The Irish tax authority explained that: "Under recently introduced regulations banks and other financial institutions are required to provide Revenue with details of the names and addresses of account holders where interest in excess of EUR635 was paid. For the years 2005 and 2006 banks, building societies and savings banks are required to report to Revenue on DIRT-liable accounts on or before 15 September 2008. For the year 2007 the reporting deadline is 31 October 2008."
"Taxpayers who had EUR100,000 or more in aggregate in these accounts (which included funds not previously declared for tax) at any time between 1 January 2005 and 31 December 2007 have until 15 September 2008 next to make a voluntary disclosure under an initiative announced by the Revenue Commissioners."
Benefits of participation in the voluntary disclosure scheme include a substantially lower penalty for underpaid tax; the taxpayer's name and settlement amount will not be published by the Revenue in its quarterly list of tax defaulters; and the tax authority will not initiate an investigation with a view to prosecution.
